› added 1 year ago

64

TIL in Han China there were two men with the same name (Han Xin) at the same time who had very similar life trajectories. Both fought the Qin dynasty and joined the Han, both were given vassal kingdoms due to military achievements, and both were killed in 196 BC in connection with the same rebellion

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

mxGbE TIL In 1831, a train suffered a boiler explosion when a fireman grew tired of listening to it whistle, and tried to stop the noise by placing a piece of lumber on the safety valve and sitting on it. The blocked valve caused the pressure within the boiler to exceed its capacity, and it exploded.
RXnj TIL 10% of those conscripted in the UK in WWII were sent to serve not on the battlefield, but in the coal mines that powered the war machine. Some of these soldiers were not released from service until two years after the war ended. They were not formally recognized for their contribution until 1995
l75e5 TIL Research has recently found neurons specifically dedicated to anticipating the sequence of melodic notes, separate from speech processing, showing music activates distinct neural mechanisms for predicting melody sequences.
Qw6E TIL 95 percent of those of European origin can trace their maternal roots to one of seven women who lived between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago.
g8e9 TIL there were two versions of the Dennis the Menace comic, released at the same time, on different sides of the atlantic, by different authors, with no plagiarism involved.